Freeport-McMoRan profit slips

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. reported Wednesday that a steep jump in metals prices and copper production were not enough to prevent a slight drop in its fourth-quarter profit.

Freeport said net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 fell 0.7% to $423 million, or $1.07 a share, from $426 million, or $1.99 a share, a year ago. Excluding charges of 29 cents a share tied to its acquisition last year of Phelps Dodge, the company earned $1.36 a share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had been looking for earnings of $1.68 a share.

The shortfall unleashed a bout of selling, driving Freeport
FCX, +0.19%
shares down as much as 11% in opening trades. The stock had since stabilized around $75.90, a 7% retreat.

Freeport said sales last quarter surged to $4.18 billion after adjustments, compared with $1.64 billion a year ago. The improvement was pinned to the Phelps Dodge purchase and higher output from the company's newly-acquired mines.

Fourth-quarter gold sales fell to 161,000 ounces from 508,000 a year ago, while the company fetched on average $803 per ounce, up from $628.

Copper output totaled 878 million pounds last quarter, selling at $3.16 a pound. That compares with 432 million pounds a year ago, sold at $2.88 a pound.

Looking ahead, the Phoenix-based company forecast 2008 sales from mines of 4.3 billion pounds of copper, 1.3 million ounces of gold and 75 million pounds of molybdenum, including 885 million pounds of copper, 170 thousand ounces of gold and 19 million pounds of molybdenum for first-quarter.

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